Ash Wednesday -- March 9, 2011
Matthew 6:1 - 6; 16 - 18
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ in front of others, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
The Church is called into Lent through this passage from the Sermon on the Mount. So on Ash Wednesday, a day in which many of us think about spiritual practices that will carry us to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, Jesus says a word about doing "acts of righteousness," or as another translation says, "practicing our piety."
The passage is not an injunction against "acts of righteousness" or "practicing piety;" however, we are warned about the inner stance which underlies the "righteous" actions. Jesus' words suggest that it is possible to do very good things for very skewed reasons.
Who would argue that fasting, prayer or giving alms are bad things? They are not. But we can engage in very spiritual activities for our own sakes, with ourselves at the center . . . concerned that others see us, that someone else applauds us, that by our actions we are thought of as humble, or saintly, or wise, or mature. We have all sorts of ways to manipulate "public opinion."
We each have our own highly developed patterns for getting what we think we need from others. Over the years they become ingrained within us. Our personal patterns are so intricate that they seem "second nature" to us, as if they were a part of us. In fact, usually we can't imagine doing without them. Because they are so intricately woven within us, we are mostly blind to them.
These patterns of control and manipulation are within all of us . . . in every human person. In fact, this passage begins Lent so that we'll come to full grips with our humanity, with our frailty. The passage reminds us that we are human, not God. And as humans, we need this journey that Jesus makes to Palm Sunday, the cross and the tomb.
On Ash Wednesday we gather for worship to receive the sign of the cross on our foreheads, written in ash upon us. The words of the minister are, "Human, from dust you have come and from dust you shall return" (Gen. 3:19). The ashes remind us that we are here a short time, that our nature is clay, that we are earthly humans.
We are put on the earth "a little space," as William Blake wrote, that we may "learn to bear the beams of love."
Today is the day to remember that I am human, not God. I remember that my life is short. I remember that God invites my very human life to be joined to His.
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ in front of others, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
The Church is called into Lent through this passage from the Sermon on the Mount. So on Ash Wednesday, a day in which many of us think about spiritual practices that will carry us to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, Jesus says a word about doing "acts of righteousness," or as another translation says, "practicing our piety."
The passage is not an injunction against "acts of righteousness" or "practicing piety;" however, we are warned about the inner stance which underlies the "righteous" actions. Jesus' words suggest that it is possible to do very good things for very skewed reasons.
Who would argue that fasting, prayer or giving alms are bad things? They are not. But we can engage in very spiritual activities for our own sakes, with ourselves at the center . . . concerned that others see us, that someone else applauds us, that by our actions we are thought of as humble, or saintly, or wise, or mature. We have all sorts of ways to manipulate "public opinion."
We each have our own highly developed patterns for getting what we think we need from others. Over the years they become ingrained within us. Our personal patterns are so intricate that they seem "second nature" to us, as if they were a part of us. In fact, usually we can't imagine doing without them. Because they are so intricately woven within us, we are mostly blind to them.
These patterns of control and manipulation are within all of us . . . in every human person. In fact, this passage begins Lent so that we'll come to full grips with our humanity, with our frailty. The passage reminds us that we are human, not God. And as humans, we need this journey that Jesus makes to Palm Sunday, the cross and the tomb.
On Ash Wednesday we gather for worship to receive the sign of the cross on our foreheads, written in ash upon us. The words of the minister are, "Human, from dust you have come and from dust you shall return" (Gen. 3:19). The ashes remind us that we are here a short time, that our nature is clay, that we are earthly humans.
We are put on the earth "a little space," as William Blake wrote, that we may "learn to bear the beams of love."
Today is the day to remember that I am human, not God. I remember that my life is short. I remember that God invites my very human life to be joined to His.
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